September 2025
Ural meeting at Piberstein Castle
or maybe
can I share my hairbrush with you
The small Piberstein Castle, in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria, was once again to be the meeting place for a small, dedicated group of motorcyclists. Almost unnoticed and overshadowed by the large Harley-Davidson gathering at the beginning of September at Lake Faak on the other side of Austria, the meeting at Piberstein Castle from last year was rescheduled. I had almost forgotten that it was even taking place, as this meeting is only organized every two years. But a visit to my garage just two weeks before the meeting brought it back to mind. So I quickly asked the garage manager, Sam, whether he was planning a trip there and whether I could join in. "Of course," was the short reply.
So I immediately talked to my boss about whether I could take two days off to plan a relaxed journey. That was no problem either. I quickly called the garage and told them I was in, and got the hotel information for the first night. I quickly got the room ready and started to get really excited, as I'd somehow missed out on riding my motorcycle this year.
The journey to the meeting was supposed to be a relaxed two-day affair, as it's quite a few kilometers. Since I already had over 100km to the garage, and another 300km to go, I arranged with the garage crew to meet along the route, and I would drive to my parents' house the evening before. This way, although I had a few more kilometers in total, I was able to spread them out and could be more relaxed.
So, after work on Wednesday afternoon, I set off for the first 200km. I even got in some culture, or something like that, with a stop at Germany's largest spring in Aach, and also made my first foray into “vegetables” for the weekend at Höchsten, on the European watershed between the Rhine and Danube. And it's really nice to arrive and find dinner already on the table. Delicious sausage salad with fresh bread, and a glass of red wine for dessert.
Thursday 04.09.2025